Expecting to fly into summer I was quite surprised to experience temperatures around 14 degrees Celsius, when I landed in Melbourne. However, this unexpected weather conditions were more than compensated by the warm welcome of the Dobson and the English family in Australia.
After spending the weekend in Inverloch, a beautiful beach town 1 ½ hours southwest of Melbourne, we went to the opening day of the Australian Open. Unfortunately the Austrians weren’t too successful, but it was great fun to experience a great atmosphere as well as the excitement of the host country caused by the match between Australian Bernard Tomic and Spanish Fernando Verdasco.
The last days I was exploring Melbourne down town and also meeting again with Lisi, a colleague from school, after about 15 years. I definitely understand why the city was rated as one of the best places to live, exchanging ranks every now and then with another one I like quite a bit: Vienna 😉
Melbourne, claiming itself to be Australia’s capital of street art, which definitely causes very strong arguments between the art community and homeowners, also displays some works by the impressive British artist Banksy. I still haven’t seen any, but I’ll be out there to find them …
Hi Florian,
now I’m much more then only bloody jealous 😉
Why the hell am I still sitting here in rainy and cold Europe?
Enjoy your stay Down Under 🙂
Monika
As Banksy’s visit dates back to 2003, it seems that none of the pieces has survived. See an interesting article at http://melbourneartcritic.wordpress.com/2011/07/04/banksy-in-melbourne/
A place I liked very much in Melbourne was Curtin House, a relatively small townhouse on 252 Swanston Street, with neat shops and a terrace bar and restaurant on the 6th floor (if I recall correctly).